TDA chair says pot charge no problem

The chair of Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority says a misdemeaor marijuana charge against the organization’s executive director will not affect her job status.

“It’s not relevant to what we’re doing or to our program of work. Nothing’s been proved, and there’s nothing in our job description and bylaws that deal with that, so I don’t even care to comment on that. It’s not relevant,” Aumen said.

The subject didn’t come up at a Jan. 10 orientation for the newly reorganized TDA board.

Haywood County’s tourism director Scotty Ellis has been charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia after the substance was found in her car during a routine traffic stop in Waynesville Dec. 30.

North Carolina Highway Patrol officer Travis Crisp pulled Ellis over for speeding on Russ Avenue in front of Kmart in Waynesville at 8:30 p.m. The Waynesville Police Department was called for assistance. After smelling marijuana in the vehicle, officers proceeded to search Ellis’ car and discovered less than half an ounce of marijuana and a glass pipe in the car. Officer Tanya Evans of the Waynesville Police Department issued Ellis a citation for possession.

Ellis denied that the marijuana and paraphernalia belonged to her.

“It’s not mine, and I will make that clear,” she said.

The TDA promotes tourism in Haywood County by spending room tax money collected at motels, hotels and inns.

Reading Room

So, Scout (Jean Louise) comes back home to Maycomb — where “everyone is either kin or almost kin”— at age 26 and after being “away” and living in New York City for several years. Sixteen years have gone by since we last heard from her in the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Maycomb she comes home to isn’t the same Maycomb we know from the 1960 novel.

This Must Be the Place

For the better part of the last decade, my life during the summer was music festivals. From Maine to California, Michigan to Arkansas, I was there, in an endless crowd, cheering on the greatest musicians of our time. In those innumerable moments, I felt more alive, at home, and at peace, than anywhere else in the world.